Great film, but did Bay just get lucky?

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2010)

I was all set to give this movie nine stars and a gushing review, but then I watched the DVD version with the director's commentary and have to rethink my initial impression. Bay made a telling and devastating remark regarding the final scene, where Jordan and Lincoln are seen on the Italian boat from an aerial shot. Bay almost apologized for putting it in, calling it "cheesy." Wow. Cheesy? The balloon deflates! That could have been even more of a brilliant scene that it was. Bay missed an opportunity to craft a Bergman-esquire ending, linking the strong and haunting opening sequence with the final scene, and bringing home the dream versus reality aspect to the film. This is very revealing. It tells me that Bay is far more of a corporate-driven technical director than an artist. He can complete a complex movie on time and within a budget (sometimes). Even Bay is proud that he shoots more scenes per day by far than the average director. Were the great parts of the movie created by the assistants and the writers? (One "great" part was actually created by Ridley Scott in "Blade Runner." You'll know when you see it.) Perhaps the DreamWorks recognized Bay's failing and makes sure that he is surrounded by brilliant people. Spielberg viewed the dailies while this film was being made, and gave many suggestions to Bay. I think the great parts to this film are due to Spielberg's uncredited influence. Other aspects of the movie I was willing to overlook now become more suspect. The Hounsou transition from bad guy to good guy was clumsily handled. The bond that developed between him and Jordan bordered on the ridiculous. Bay admits that having Hounsou wandering outside the destroyed complex with the rest of the "products" and smiling back at Jordan was something he threw in on impulse at the last minute. It shows. This also explains the product placement- Dreamworks wanted it for extra revenue. Were the clones called "product" as an inside joke referring to this? Still, a good if not great movie. The music was tremendous and incredibly moving when synced with the helicopter pan shots. Ewan and Scarlett were utterly believable as the clones. The Merrick set was spectacular. The action scenes were first-rate, of course, which is what Bay is known for. Unavoidably, the lighting was dark in order to accommodate the CGI. That's to be expected these days. So instead of concluding that "The Island" was a flawed but brilliant movie, after hearing the director's commentary I have to conclude that Bay just got lucky in having talented underlings and advisers, and taking their advice.